Football Standouts Cap Season With Regional And National Honors

Brad Kassner

Jacob Thomas

Will Block

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University football standouts Brad Kassner, Jacob Thomas and Will Block earned All-North Region honors, and Kassner went on to earn All-America honors for the second straight year.

Kassner, a senior offensive lineman, and Thomas, a senior punter, were named second-team All-North Region by Don Hansen's National Football Gazette, while Block earned third-team recognition as a kickoff returner. Kassner added third-team All-America honors from D3football.com in an announcement on Monday.

Kassner, who was selected to play for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III U.S. All-Star team that competed against the Mexican National Team in the 2004 Aztec Bowl on Dec. 11, also earned honorable mention All-America a year ago. A 6-3, 285-pound physics major from Circleville, Ohio, Kassner was an All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection for the Tigers three straight years despite making the move from guard to tackle on the offensive line in 2004. He was a key part of an offensive unit that averaged 44 points and 484 yards in total offense per game this season, both of which ranked second in the NCAC and among the top 10 nationally.

Thomas led the NCAC in punting a year after missing the entire 2003 season as a result of a leg injury suffered in the preseason. A 6-2, 205-pound senior communication major from New Albany, Ohio, Thomas averaged 42.3 yards per punt in 2004, handily breaking a 28-year-old school record. The highlight of his season was a 73-yard punt late in the fourth quarter of the Homecoming win over Wabash College on Oct. 23, a boot that was mishandled by the Little Giants and converted into a game-clinching touchdown by the Tigers.

Because Thomas had just 28 punts on the entire season, he did not quality for the NCAA Division III rankings, which require 3.6 punts per game as a minimum standard. He would have wound up second nationally, just 0.4 yards per punt out of the top spot.

Block led the NCAC and ranked 12th in the nation with a kickoff return average of 27.6 yards on 12 attempts during the 10-game 2004 season. In his first season in the Red & White after transferring from Ashland University, the 5-9, 195-pound junior tailback from Troy, Ohio, also carried the ball 61 times for 254 yards and one touchdown. The highlight of Block's season came against nationally ranked Wooster, when he sparked a Tiger comeback with a school-record 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Tigers, trailing 58-37 at that point, rallied to force overtime before eventually losing 64-58.

Wittenberg finished the 2004 season with a 7-3 overall record, including a mark of 5-2 in the NCAC, good for a second-place tie with Ohio Wesleyan behind nationally ranked Wooster. It was the 48th winning season in the last 50 years for the program, which has the most wins of any NCAA Division III institution. Kassner was part of a senior class that had a 36-9 record in four years, won one NCAC championship and made two appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

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